Diplomacy in uncharted waters

Imagine if a bunch of Iranian sailors were captured between the high seas and British territorial waters (A peculiar outrage, March 30). The media would say they had no right to be there in the first place. They would certainly be paraded on TV. The prime minister would condemn this act of aggression by Iran. And Iran would profess that it was unlawful for Britain to detain its sailors, who were merely undertaking a routine exercise on the high seas. This scenario appears absurd because one cannot think of a circumstance where the Iranian military would be roaming around waters in western Europe. And that absurdity is at the heart of the present situation.

What right does Britain have to be in the Persian gulf in the first place? Please, spare me the patronising talk about UN security council resolutions, of maintaining international peace, or even that the Iraqi government, which was installed by the US and Britain, invited the British into its waters. And don't even mention the matter of US designs over Iran; how Pentagon planners are drawing up targets for a possible US invasion.

None of this would have happened if western nations did not interfere in the geopolitics of the region. Let us not forget that most of the borders and nation states of the modern Middle East were created by the British, with some help from the French, after the first world war.Mustafa QadriLondon

The whole tone of Ronan Bennett's article serves to make light of the behaviour of the Iranians and condemn the British as somehow being worse. I find it insulting to have parallels made between my own democratic government and that of an oppressive dictatorship.

There have been abuses of power by British service personnel in the Middle East, but the distinction is that these are not sanctioned and are condemned by the British government. Yes it is right to speak out against these things, but to do so in this context is deeply damaging.

The Iranian government has behaved appallingly in its treatment of the 15 Britons. It is unacceptable for them to be paraded on TV and to be held in this way. The Guardian should be highlighting this outrage, not using it to score cheap points against our own government.

We live in a liberal democracy, enjoy freedom of speech, the rule of law and equal rights for women. These are privileges that Iranians and people of other oppressive states lack. Sometimes it is more important to point out that there are greater evils in the world than those supposedly lurking in our own backyard.Joe WrightBristol

Since the beginning of the last century Britain has consistently dealt with Iran as if it were a vassal state. Instead of normal diplomatic courtesies in time of crisis it has used megaphone diplomacy, as if the Iranian government were a recalcitrant subject who needed to be taught a lesson. We may have got away with it at the height of our imperial power. Now it is more inappropriate than ever .

Iran is a proud nation with a history of highly developed civilisation going back 2,500 years. The present regime may be odious, the capture and detention of our service personnel may be quite irregular, but diplomatic bad manners on our part is not going to improve matters.Peter McMullinWinchelsea, East Sussex

This crisis exposes once again the ludicrousness of the so-called special relationship with America. The UK, under the "leadership" of Tony Blair, has followed George Bush from Afghanistan to Iraq in pursuit of US interests. Yet whenever Blair needs Bush to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the UK, the US president goes missing in action. Remember the London bombings of 2005 when US personnel were instructed to stay clear of London? Then came the "friendly fire" incidents where US servicemen have been responsible for the deaths of UK soldiers - the US authorities couldn't have been more uncooperative if they tried.

How does the US react to its friend in need? It stands back and lets the Brits get on with it. When will the penny drop that the only special thing about this relationship is the denseness and inability of the junior member to see how it is being used.Paul DonovanLondon